Martin was born in Sofia, Bulgaria. The US has been his home for the last 17 years. Martin has a doctorate degree in computer science and is a self-taught artist. He was selected the 2017 fellow of the prestigious Donald and Kim Jurney Traveling Fellowship, which he used to travel to Spain and study the works of Velazquez and Sorolla. Martin teaches in the Scottsdale Artist School. He also holds a P.H.D. in computer science.

Painting "Times Past I" was awarded finalist in the International Artist Magazine still-life competition and appeared in the Feb/March 2016 issue.

Painting "Grapefruit" won the award for Best Outdoor Still Life in April/May online contest for Plein Air Magazine in 2016.

Artist Statement

"My artwork is created through direct observation (from life) and/or from imagination. I purposely avoid the use of technology while conceptualizing or executing my paintings/sculptures for two main reasons. Firstly, I choose to draw my inspiration directly from nature and my own memories and experiences. This is because I believe nature's impact on our senses (visual and otherwise) cannot be approximated by technology. Nature's effect is both subjective (influencing our emotional state) as well as objective (the range of light and color that our naked eye perceives is yet to be matched by a photograph.) Thus, by working directly from life or imagination, I hope to achieve a more immediate and personal interpretation of the subject. Secondly, I aspire to continuously advance my abilities as a craftsman. By taking the longer road of doing everything by hand, I am challenged to practice and improve. In addition, my working method sometimes requires more creative solutions to re-create an imaginary environment or to capture a fleeting moment. This keeps my process fresh, fun and challenging.